New Minimum Wage Prompts Original Joe’s in San Jose to Close Lunchtime Service

By Damian Trujillo•Published January 31, 2019•Updated on January 31, 2019 at 6:31 pm

San Jose restaurants continue to announce major changes in response to the city's new minimum wage.

Original Joe's, which has served downtown customers for 63 years, now plans to stop serving the lunch-hour crowd because owners say they will lose money by staying open. The move comes after several other restaurants have added either a surcharge or raised prices to keep up with the new $15-an-hour minimum wage in San Jose.

"It's very difficult to stay in business Monday through Friday," said Brad Rocca, Original Joe's owner.